Crystal Nightmare
by Cocoon02
Summary: Everything is falling apart, and what's left is held together by threads. As Fang and the others cope with Vanille's death, will they be able to keep those threads from breaking? Sequel to Connected By Dreams. Hope/Vanille, Snow/Serah
1. Two Days

**Author's Note:** Hi guys! So... This is the sequel to Connected By Dreams! Are you as excited as I am? I bet you are. :)

Okay, if you haven't read the first one, you will either suffer minor confusion or major confusion. In either case, the only treatment is to stop reading this one, and to go read the first one. (Connected By Dreams) Or you can just keep reading. Your choice.

If you _have_ read the first one, this is the remedy for that cliffhanger I left you guys with.

* * *

"It's been two days, Light."

"I know."

"Anything?"

A sigh, "No." A pause, "Snow, what if she doesn't wake up? What will we do?"

Their faded voices echoed through Fang's mind. She tried to hold on to them, to keep herself from being dragged back into the darkness.

Boots clunked on the floor, "She's strong, she'll wake up."

"But what if she doesn't? We don't even know what he did to her."

Fang managed to weakly flex her fingers, clutching at the smooth material beneath her. Sheets. A bed. Where was she?

"You can't..." Fang lost her grip and Snow's voice faded, along with everything else. She struggled to find a foothold, anything that would keep her connected to reality. But she kept slipping. She was just... so tired...

Lightning's pained voice pulled her back up, "...the day we completed our Focus. And I've lost him every day since."

"I-I'm sorry sis, I didn't mean-"

"No, Snow, I just... I can't..." Her breath hitched, and then came the sound of Snow's footsteps. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"Don't apologize." Fang could barely pick up Snow's words.

The next thing she heard though, was plain and clear: a child's cry.

There were a few moments of silence before Lightning said, "Go ahead and get him. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Go take care of your son."

"If you need anything."

"I can take care of myself."

"Right."

As Snow left, so did Fang. She was no longer aware of where she was or what was going on. All she knew was that the darkness around her was deafening. Pressing against her ears and everything else, forcing itself down her throat and into her blood, dragging her down. She was falling, down into the black with nothing to touch, nothing to hear, and nothing to see. And she didn't care. It all made her sleepy, and sleep sounded really, _really_ good...

Until... until a sound broke through the dense nothing. A sharp intake of air. It leaked into her hers, slowly flooding her body. It was light, but it felt... sad somehow. It came again. But this time it pressed up against her back. It happened again and again, until finally she stopped sinking.

Fang opened her eyes. She found herself in the guest room, where she'd slept before. Her head fell to the side, and she saw Lightning sitting in a chair by the wall.

The soldier was crying.

She was leaning on her knees, her head buried in her hands, shaking. Between sobs she whispered, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." This was the side of her that she hid behind that tough wall. The side that belonged to Claire, not Lightning.

"Well, that's not something you see every day." Fang said hoarsely.

Lightning froze for a moment before she looked up, "Fang?"

Fang nodded, "You look like hell."

Lightning chuckled and wiped the tear tracks from her face, "Hell is one of my favorite vacation spots, didn't you know?" She sighed, "Are you okay?"

"I've been better. But... what happened to me?"

Lightning looked worried, "You don't remember."

"No."

Another sigh, "I was afraid of that."

"Why? What happened?"

Lightning sat on the bed beside the Oerban, "...Do you remember what happened to Vanille?"

"I-" Vanille... What could have happened to her? "No, I don't. What happened?"

"Goddess..." Lightning muttered. She took a deep breath and looked Fang dead in the eye. "She's gone, Fang."

"Gone?" Her heart raced painfully, "What do you mean gone? Where did she go?"

"She's not that kind of gone, Fang."

"What other-" It hit her. It hit her like a behemoth paw, though that would hurt less. She remembered. She remembered how, who... "No, no, _no!_" She sat bolt upright, fighting back the emotion that threatened to spill from her eyes. "He ki- He killed her."

Lightning put an arm around her friend, "I know, Fang. I know."

Fang shrugged away from her, "I wanna see her."

"Fang, I don't-"

"Lightning, please."

Blue eyes scanned her face, and Fang figured that the pain in those eyes matched hers. "Alright." Lightning stood, offering her hand, "Come on."

* * *

"She has a point, Snow. What will we do if she doesn't wake up?"

"She'll wake up."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. But I have to believe in something."

Serah fell back onto their bed, "How could this have happened?"

"Which part of it?"

"Everything. Vanille. Fang. Ho-"

A door slammed shut downstairs.

The two fell silent as footsteps came up the stairs and down the hall past their room, towards the end of the house. Serah gasped, realizing where they were going, and who it must be. She exchanged a look with Snow and they both left the room, catching up with Lightning and Fang as they reached their destination.

Lightning stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "Are you sure about this?" she asked Fang.

Fang shook a little, but when she spoke, her voice was strong. "Open the damn door."

Lightning nodded, and opened the door.

* * *

Fang wasn't sure what she expected to see when Lightning opened the door, but she definitely didn't expect what she saw.

"Oh, Vanille..."

The pain wasn't just in her heart this time, it screamed from every cell in her body. She moved to Vanille's side, and wrapped her fingers around the girl's cold hand. What had she done to deserve this? As if it wasn't bad enough that she was dead, now... now she...

"He did this to her?" Her voice shook.

"Actually," Lightning hesitated, "I'm not so sure-"

Fang glared up at her, "Of _course_ it was him! Who else could have done it!?" Pain crossed Lightning's face and Fang spat, "_Tell me!_"

The soldier just turned away. "That's what I thought." Fang turned back to Vanille and asked, "Where is he?"

"He ran." Snow told her, anger slithering into his words. "He ran right after he did this to her."

Fang nodded, and for a while she didn't even breathe. She just sat there, studying her sister's face. A face that would never smile again. A face that would never again light up when she made a discovery. She had a voice that would never speak again, never laugh. Eyes that would never see, ears that would never hear, and hands that would never feel. Vanille, and everything she had, everything she could have been, was gone. All because of him. Closing her eyes, Fang only said one word:

"Good."

* * *

Lightning closed the door behind her as quietly as possible. She held her breath until the door latched. When it did, she held her hand on the cold metal of the doorknob a little longer. Did she really want to do this? She'd been meaning to for days, but kept stalling. Maybe because it felt too much like talking to a headstone.

She finally let her breath go, and let go of the door. She didn't bother to turn on the lights, even though it was the middle of the night, she just pulled a chair up to the bed.

"Vanille..." She whispered, "I am so sorry this happened to you. You didn't deserve death." She stared into the girl's face, "And you didn't deserve to have your body turn to crystal."

* * *

**So, what'd you think? I hope you liked it!**

**I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, but I finished this one and decided to give you guys something to think about. :)**

**Reviews are much appreciated! **


	2. Questions

**Author's Note:** Hi! ^_^ I had trouble writing this one, so it's not the best. I apologize in advance.

If you're wondering why Vanille is crystal, there are two reasons. One I cannot tell you. The other, I will.

The reason Vanille is crystal that has no bearing on the plotline whatsoever: I just couldn't bear to bury her. I tried, and you know what I got? A blank piece of paper. And I can pretty much guarantee that you guys don't want to read about her funeral anyway.

With that said, here we go!

* * *

Lightning was hit by a powerful wave of grief. She didn't bother to stop the tears that followed. "Maybe… maybe if I hadn't given up on him… Maybe this wouldn't have happened. I'm sorry." She lowered her head into her hands, "I'm so sorry."

She knew that, were Vanille alive, she'd be wrapped in the redhead's embrace, hearing the words, "It's not your fault, Lightning."

"But it _is_ my fault. Damnit." Lightning quickly built a wall to keep a sob from escaping, she didn't want anyone to hear her. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Vanille. Her crystal body gave off no soft blue glow, as crystal usually did. There was no energy in the crystal, because there was no life in it's occupant.

"Do you know, Vanille? Do you know what he did to you?" It must've been quick. Lightning had looked away from them for only a moment, just a _moment_, and every trace of life had been stolen from her. It had to have been him. There was no other explanation. But it _just wasn't possible_. "I don't think he killed you, Vanille."

* * *

_"I-I di- I didn't-" He shook his head, "I didn't! I… I…"_

_The war was over._

_"I killed her." he whispered._

* * *

Lightning shook herself out of the memory. "He thinks he did it." she mumbled shakily, "And so do Snow and Fang. But-"

* * *

**_"I've already killed the young girl. And now you will join her in endless, dreamless sleep."_**

* * *

"-it wasn't him. I don't buy that, not even for a second. He's…" She held her breath for a moment as she fortified her wall. "…gone."

* * *

"And why the _hell_ would we want to do that?" Fang practically shouted.*

"He's not all in there, Fang. Something-"

"What? Possessed him? Snow said skeptically, "I don't think so, sis."

"Well I do."

"And why should we listen to you?" Fang crossed her arms across her chest, waiting for an answer.

"Because." Lightning replied, stepping toward the last remaining Oerban, "You heard that voice too. I know you did."

* * *

**_"He didn't kill her."_**

* * *

"Tsk." Fang turned away, "That doesn't mean a thing."

"Fang, just _think_." Lightning grabbed her shoulder, turning her back around, forcing her to make eye contact, "Why would he kill her? You saw how he reacted to the dreams. Why would he kill her, after seeing her die, night after night?"

"Wait a minute." Snow said, "What?"

Serah, who had remained silent until now, answered his question. "He dreams of her death every night. He tries to save her, but he can't."

Lightning cast an incredulous gaze over her sister, "How did you know that?"

"He… told me." She'd promised not to tell Lightning, or anyone, about his dreams. But Lightning was right, he wasn't there anymore. "About a year after everything. I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone."

The eldest Farron wilted slightly, "He's been dreaming… all these years?"

"I agree with Claire." Serah declared, "We should go find him."

"What's the point? If he really is possessed, he's probably gone completely by now."

"You know, I don't get you, Snow." Lightning said, anger rising, "You were the one leading the search before. What-"

"You're right," Snow interrupted, "I did. I searched for _fifty years_." He clenched his hand into a fist, "How long did you search, Light?"

"Snow…"

"I said, _how long!_?"

"I-"

"Three years! You gave up after _three years_!"

"I held on as long as I could!" Lightning snapped in a dangerous tone, "I didn't want to lose him any more than you did! But he wasn't a kid anymore, I had to let him go!"

"You didn't let him go!" Snow growled, "You decided he was dead! You _gave up_!

"Guys, _stop_!" Serah shouted, shoving the two away from each other, "What would Vanille say about all this fighting?" She turned to her sister, "If you honestly, truly think he's possessed out there somewhere, I'll help you find him."

"Serah-"

Serah held up her hand, and Snow stopped mid-sentence. "Well?" she asked.

Lightning didn't know what to think. Everything Snow said was true. She _had_ given up, she didn't let go. Serah knew that, yet she still wanted to help, even if this was just her guilt thinking for her. Which was entirely possible. But whatever was thinking, she believed it.

"Yes, I do."

Serah nodded, "That settles it." She turned to Snow and Fang. "I know you two are angry, and I'm sorry. But I love-" She hesitated a bit before saying his name, "Hope. And Vanille too much to just sit here and do nothing. Now, you can sit here and stew, or," she stepped back to Lightning, "you can come with us."

* * *

**Like I said, not the best, but I think I got the point across.**

***In case you couldn't tell, that was a time skip. This chapter is kinda messy. *shakes head* I'm sorry... **

**Alright, the next chapter will switch to the POV of our fugitive friend. (I promise, it will be better than this one.)**

**As always, reviews are appreciated! :)**


	3. Fault And Blame

**Author's Note:** Did you guys know that in Lightning Returns, Hope is going to be 14 again? Is anyone else completely confused? I mean, just- what? I see no logic there.

_Anyway, _so this chapter gives you a glimpse of what's going on with said person.

* * *

The pain pulsed from his wrist, sending white-hot needles of pain into his flesh, pounding at the back of his mind. Each pulse drove him closer to the edge, with no power to stop. He dimly wondered if this was how Snow felt hanging off that building, all those years ago. But another surge derailed that train of thought. It was constant. The pain was permanently etched into his nerves, there was no relief.

But he didn't deserve relief.

There was another kind of pain ripping at his heart, much like the wind and trees were ripping at his body. Vanille. Her blood was on his hands. The soul of the woman he loved no longer belonged to this world, and it was all his fault.

Had his legs not been moving of their own accord, he would have collapsed from the sheer amount of emotional and physical pain that flooded his body. It came in waves, each more powerful than the last.

Some remote part of his consciousness registered that his grip was weakening, he was losing control. That same part remembered, that if he lost control, it was game over. If he lost control, Lightning and the others would join Vanille. Himself as well, though he didn't care about that. So, he began to pull himself back up. He couldn't manage much, just a small tug between each beat of pain, akin to a mother redirecting her child at the store. He managed to collect himself a bit before a dark presence scattered him again, bringing with it not pain, but a lack. Of everything. It seemed to be saying, "If you simply let go, the pain will stop. The guilt will stop. You'll be free."

His head, his heart, and even his body screamed for him to give in, to just let go. And he nearly did. But that one part of himself that remembered Lightning and Fang. Remembered Snow and Serah, Sazh and Dajh. That piece of him said no. Said, "They are all that matters."

And his tired, broken self agreed.

The nothing that came with the darkness faded, and pain replaced it once more.

He managed to make it to the next town before he broke.

* * *

The town of Cidra was small compared to the others surrounding it. It wasn't tiny, but it was small enough that if you were a stranger, you stood out. So when a young silver-haired man began walking the streets, he drew attention.

Though, that in itself wasn't what drew attention to him. What made him worthy of a second glance was what he did: nothing. He would wander around for a while, then out of the blue just... stop. He would stop and sit on the edge of the road, or a nearby bench. He would sit and just stare at nothing for hours, before getting up and starting the process all over again.

This went on for about two days before someone decided to do something about him. One man who found the stranger extremely suspicious gathered up a few of his friends, and confronted him.

They approached the stranger just as he was coming out of his trance. The ringleader of the group said, "Starting again, huh?"

The stranger just gave him a cold look.

The man took a few steps forward, "What's your deal? How long are you gonna walk in circles?"

No reaction.

One of the other men in the group said, "You deaf?"

Nothing.

The stranger received a shove to the chest. "Hey buddy, we're talking to you."

Zilch.

One of the more timid men read the hostility in the stranger's eyes and said, "Let's just go."

The man who started this responded, but did not turn. "You're tellin' me you have no problem with some nut-" He didn't finish. He couldn't finish, because the hand around his neck wouldn't let him. He stared into the stranger's hard, unforgiving eyes, gaping for air. The stranger spoke, in a voice that didn't seem to fit him. "**I am not just 'some nut.'**" With one squeeze, he crushed the man's throat, breaking all the bones in his neck.

The man dropped, dead, to the ground.

The stranger smirked up at the others, "Anyone else have a problem with me?"

* * *

Hope leaned against the cold stone wall of his cell. His body ached all over. He'd regained control of his body only to find himself being beaten by a group of men. He let them. He was sure that he did something to deserve it.

He drew patterns on the dirty floor with his finger. He'd done so many things. Things that could not be forgiven. Things he would never forgive himself for. And as an image of Vanille formed in his mind, along with it came a wish that the men had beaten him to death. Life wasn't worth living, not anymore.

He glanced down at his wrist, studied his slightly blackened brand. If he broke his own wrist, would he die? He wasn't sure. He'd survived a broken wrist before. Maybe he would try. If he did die, he'd be able to be with her again. He could apologize for taking her life. Knowing her, she'd just hug him and say, "It's okay, it wasn't your fault." Oh, how he wanted to feel her arms around him again... But whether she blamed him or not, he blamed himself. It _was_ his fault. If he believed anything else, he'd just be lying to himself. He killed her. And now she's dead.

"Hey, mister?"


	4. Memories, Or Lack Thereof

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the long wait guys. Meh, and the chapter is pretty short too. I am so so so so so so so so sorry! My brain is kinda lagging right now. It's like, writer's block heaven inside my skull. OhMyEtro, I hate writer's block. I really, really, really hate it. Almost more than Alyssa. *glares at the memory of Hope's assistant.*

Okay, rant over.

Chapter, begin!

* * *

Snow had agreed to go with them days ago. Though that was more out of concern for Serah's safety than anything. He refused to believe that any good would come from searching.

Fang on the other hand, she would take a while to convince. Especially since she wouldn't talk. Or eat. Or sleep. The normally active woman had remained almost as frozen as her sister for nearly two days. Snow and Sazh tried to talk her out of the room until Serah told them to stop. "She's grieving, give her time."

Sazh understood and backed off. But Snow replied with, "If what Light says is true, we don't have time."

"_If?_" Serah had snapped, "Snow, he _attacked us_, what other explanation is there? I don't like it any more than you do, but he's not himself anymore." Her voice had taken on a softer tone then. "No one was closer to Vanille than Fang. Let her grieve. We're not leaving without her."

"Serah, he kicked us halfway to Cocoon and back with no effort. He could kill half of Pulse in a week if he wanted. We don't have time."

Serah sighed, "If Claire tells us to leave without her, than we will. But no one was closer to Hope than she was. She's grieving too."

* * *

If only Serah was wrong. Though there was no way she was as close to him as Vanille was, she really was grieving. She thought she had accepted that her little teenager was gone a long time ago, but...

Lightning gripped the slightly splintery wood at the edge of the small dock and lowered her bare feet the extra few inches it took to reach the water. The cold liquid felt good on her toes. She sighed. Maybe she was just crazy. What would finding him solve? She'd already tried talking* him back. It worked for a grand total of thirty seconds. Whatever took him away was too powerful. The only other option would be to-

No. Not happening.

Lightning lowered herself the rest of the way off the dock. The water came up to her knees here. What was the point of the dock, anyway? The water wasn't even deep. She leaned back against it and stared up at the blanket of deep grey clouds that covered the sky. They'd been there since the morning after Vanille died. She'd been through so much. She'd been tasked to destroy Cocoon at 19, along with Fang, then spent the next few centuries in crystal stasis. She went through it all again, but with more people sharing her Focus. She spent six hundred years holding up Cocoon, and when finally free for the second time, was killed by the very man she fell in love with. She was a fighter, never giving up and refusing to carry out her Focus because it threatened millions of lives. Even the planet was upset about her being taken away.

Though the man who took her was just as gone.

"What do I do?" Lightning mumbled aloud.

Almost like an answer, she heard someone jogging across the sand. Looking down from the clouds, she saw a young woman with short, light-brown hair heading in her general direction. As the woman came closer, Lightning got a better look at her face, and she thought:

'_I've seen her before._'

But with her faulty memory, who could really say?

The woman jogged until she reached the end of the dock, then stopped herself with a little hop. She smiled down at Lightning and said, "Hey, Claire! You really are back!"

Lightning just stared up at her, her expression completely neutral. Why the hell did this woman know her real name?

The woman's smile faded a bit. "Uh, hello? Earth to Light, are you in there?"

It was driving her crazy. She knew this woman, her identity was biting at the back of Lightning's mind. Everything about her was familiar, but that last piece of the puzzle was just out of reach. "Who... are you?" she asked.

"You're joking, right?" She laughed. She waited for a few seconds as if waiting for Lightning to say, "Of course I'm joking!" But when she didn't, her smile faded completely, and she knelt on the dock. "Oh, goddess, you really don't know who I am, do you?"

For some reason, Lightning felt embarrassed for not being able to remember. "I'm sorry, I don't."

The woman sat back on her heels. "I should've known something wasn't right. I had to hear that you were back from Caleb."

Lightning's brow furrowed, "Who's Caleb?"

"Goddess, Claire. What the hell happened to you?"

Lightning didn't answer. She had no clue. Before waking up in the woods, there were centuries of memories missing. A few were scattered here and there, but not enough to create even a rough timeline of her life. What _did_ happen to her?

The woman reached her hand down for Lightning, "Come on, let's go."

"Where?"

The woman shrugged, "I don't know. Somewhere. We need to catch up. I wanna know what happened to you while you were gone, and maybe I can help you figure out what's going on."

Lightning felt that she could trust this woman, so she took her hand. "Alright."

"Sweet." The brunette helped Lightning back onto the dock, then added, "I'm Amira by the way."

* * *

**Okay. I decided to stop it here so you guys could come up with your own theories as for why Lightning can't remember squat. If you want. Or you can just wait. But waiting is no fun.**

**Again, I'm ****_really, really _sorry about the wait. Hopefully that won't happen again.**

**Reviews are fantastic! :)**


	5. Green Eyes

**Author's Note:** What's this? You thought I was going to explain why Lightning can't remember anything? Haha, nope. Not quite yet. There's someone I'd like you to meet first...

* * *

Small, bright green eyes stared at him from the cell across from his. He only glimpsed them for a moment before turning away, a sour feeling in his gut. They were the same shade. They were the same shade of green.

"Mister." The soft voice called, "Are you okay?"

"...Fine." He replied gruffly, keeping his gaze averted. What were the odds? The same...the same...

He felt himself slipping away, and shook his head violently, forcing himself to focus. As much as he didn't feel like living, he couldn't allow his body to be used as a murder weapon. He had to stay in control.

"I don't believe you." The small voice decided.

His laugh came out as one harsh note. "Oh, yeah?

"Yeah."

He didn't bother to respond this time. He just silently turned his back on the traditional bars that made up the fourth wall of his cell. He wasn't about to play that game. And why would a little girl care if he was okay or not? ...

Why was a little girl in jail?

He turned his head about sixty degrees to the left and looked behind him. She was still in the same spot, still looking at him with those eyes. He turned back again when a pain as sharp as a knife pierced his heart. A shadow passed over his mind and he tried to keep Vanille out of it. She was gone, but she was everywhere. Every unsupervised thought found it's way to her. The place in his heart where she'd been practically screamed. She was somewhere in every woman he passed, she was in the little girl's eyes. He would never be free of her.

But he didn't want to be. As much as the memory of...everything that had happened hurt, he knew that without her, he would've died a long time ago. During the Purge, or, maybe he wouldn't have been born at all. Maybe Cocoon would have been destroyed during the War of Transgression. Either way, without her, he wouldn't be here. But that was just it. Without her, he didn't want to be here. What was the point? His whole reason for living had been to bring her back somehow, but now... No. That wouldn't be fair to the others.

His life had become a living hell. Half the time he wasn't himself, he wasn't in control of his own body. When he wasn't, he did things -he couldn't even remember. And when he was... When he was, he had to live with what he'd done. There seemed to be only one way out, but taking that road would kill all of his friends, likely others as well.

So, whether he liked it or not, his life would have to continue.

* * *

The stranger hadn't given any problems when he'd been arrested, and they hadn't heard a sound from him since. So they didn't expect any trouble when they stepped into his cell to question him. And, aside from a few hard glances, they didn't get any.

Two men volunteered to question the stranger, two men stepped inside the cell. One sporting a rather thick beard, the other with piercings all along the edge of his right ear. The former stayed by the entrance, key tucked away in his back pocket while the latter stopped himself in front of the stranger, who was facing the wall and had been for several hours. The man with the piercings did not lower himself when he spoke to the stranger, but stood above him, establishing his power in the situation.

He began with the basics. "What's yer name, kid?"

"I'm a lot older than I look." was the stranger's response.

"Then what's yer name, _sir_."

"...Hope."

"Hope? What kind o' girl's name is that?" The man laughed and fiddled with the lowest piercing on his ear, "All right, _Hope._ What're you doin' here?"

"You're the one who put me in here. Why don't you tell me?"

The man pulled back one of his boots and tapped the toe on the ground, "Don't gimme that shit." He scuffed his boot back into place. "I'm gonna ask you again. What are you doin' in Cidra?"

"Passing through."

That was the wrong thing to say. The bearded man let out a low growl, while the other man displayed his rage by aiming a kick at the wall. "Passing through!?" He shouted, "Is that what you were doing? Passing through! Do you kill someone in every town, or are we just special?!"

Hope shuddered. His body curled forward, just a bit. And when he straightened again, he spoke in a voice that was _way_ too calm for comfort. "He provoked me."

The man with the piercings would have pulled his hair out if it wasn't too short for him to do so. Instead, he let out a string of profanities pass through his lips and paced to the other side of the cell. He turned angrily to the other man, "Are you hearin' this?"

"'s true." said the bearded man. "Got about five witnesses to prove it. 'n you knew 'im, couldn't keep out o' trouble."

"But you don' just..." he punched the wall. "Damnit!" A few deep breaths later he said, "Let me out o' here."

The quieter of the two pulled the door open, allowing his partner to leave. However, he didn't leave right away. He stopped just before making it out and said icily, "I hope you rot in hell."

Then he was gone.

The man that was left shut the door again, but this time, he locked it. Placing the key back in his pocket, he took a place in front of Hope, down at eye level.

"Don't tell me." Hope said tiredly, "You're the 'good cop,' right?"

"We ain't that dumb. But, I guess you could say that. I'll try not to yell at ya, anyway."

"Why are you even doing this? You know I did it. Just lock the door and throw away the key, never look back."

"'cos the family wants answers."

"Then why don't you just ask? Why play games?"

"I told ya, we weren't playin' a game. He was jus' real pissed. Can' stand killers."

A slight smirk crossed Hope's face. "He'd've become one himself if he'd stayed any longer."

"No. He's all bark and no bite. Got a big mouth but..." The bearded man shrugged.

Hope nodded. "He wouldn't've been able to beat me anyway. No one can."

"Really? Wanna test that?"

Hope cocked his head to the side a bit, "Are you saying...?"

"Look, I think you're a bit nuts, but that guy you killed? Well, I'm not gonna pretend I'm sad that 'e's gone. You manage to beat me, 'n I'll put in a good word for ya."

Hope considered. "And if I lose?"

"Then this conversation never happened."

A few seconds passes as a film of cocky confidence covered Hope from head to toe. "You're on."

The next thing he knew, the bearded man was lying slumped against the wall, a pool of blood forming beneath him.

* * *

**Hi. :) I don't even have an excuse for why it took me so long to update. It just did. Sorry...**

**Anyway, I know this wasn't the best chapter ever, but what did you think? Is the little girl important? (I'll answer that for you: yes) Will the man with the piercings return? Will Hope ever get out of jail? Pft, not at this rate.**

**Bonus: Parts of the interrogation were Hope, and other parts weren't. Mentally speaking. Which lines were spoken _by_ him and which were spoken _for_ him? Rhetorical question. Just something to think about.**

**Wow, this note has gone all over the place... Back to the point. I hope to have the next chapter out faster than this one. (You'll believe it when you see it, right?) Please review! :)**


	6. Answers?

**Author's Note:** Ha. Told you guys I'd get this chapter out faster! You didn't believe me, did you? Whelp, you were wrong! :)

* * *

"We used to come here all the time." Amira said, pulling open the door to a small café. "This is where Caleb works"

"Right." Lightning said, following her in. It really was a small café. There were only six tables, with two to three chairs at each. The overall design of the place was very simple, the color scheme consisting of various shades of blue, and it felt very familiar.

Amira led her to the table in the back right corner, the one farthest away from the counter and all the other tables. She took a seat in one of two chairs, and motioned for Lightning to do the same.

"So." Amira folded her hands into a miniature plateau, and rested her chin on top. "Where do you want to start?"

Lightning didn't answer, but looked around the café. There were only five other customers in the room, and one employee at the counter. She searched their faces for something she recognized. Their hair, their faces, even the builds of their bodies. Nothing. Not surprised, but slightly disappointed, she turned back to the woman who claimed to be her friend. "Tell me about this place. And you. And Caleb."

Amira took her chin off of her plateau, but kept her hands folded. "Well, whaddya wanna know?"

Lightning shrugged. "Everything. I really don't remember."

Amira exhaled loudly. "Everything. Damn, okay. Well..." She chewed her bottom lip for a few seconds, trying to figure out where to begin. "I guess you should know about me first. Um. We've been friends for about six years. I met you in the army, but was kicked out because...well, I don't play well with others. Or, I don't play well with sexist pigs, to be more specific. Caleb is a distant cousin of mine, but you met him because he's Dajh's friend, well, roommate. Cute kid. Kinda weird sometimes, but..." Amira shrugged, and then looked up and waved at someone behind Lightning.

Lightning turned and saw a young man with short, straight blond hair and pale blue eyes waving back at her companion. He made his way over, and stole a chair from the table closest to them. "Hey, Light. I wondered how long it was gonna take for you to come here. What's up?"

"...You're Caleb, right?"

"Well, yeah. Who else would I be?"

"Well..."

"Caleb." Amira interrupted. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She cocked her head toward the opposite side of the café.

"Uh, sure."

They stood, and Amira practically drug Caleb across the room by his t-shirt. Lightning though it was kind of funny. Not funny enough to laugh, but funny. She'd never understood why people left for 'private' conversations when there was no reason it would need to be private.

_"I don't know!"_

Especially since she could hear half of what they were saying.

When the two returned, Caleb turned his chair around and sat in it backwards. "Alright. I'm up to speed now." He ruffled his own hair a bit. "So." He said to Lightning. "You don't remember me, huh?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"Damn. That's rough."

"It's driving me nuts." Lightning sighed.

"Don't worry about it. I'm more of an annoying fly than a friend anyway."

Amira shoved him lightly, "Don't beat yourself up."

Caleb allowed himself to fall a bit farther than the shove actually pushed him. "Whatever." He straightened himself again and directed his next words at Lightning. "So, where have you been? You were supposed to be back like, three weeks ago."

"I was?"

"Yeah."

Lightning felt her teeth begin to gnaw on the right corner of her bottom lip. Three weeks? She hadn't been awake for that long. What had she done those missing days? Why didn't she go home? Was...had she been unconscious in the woods that whole time? ...Lightning shook her head, trying to unscramble the possibilities that tangled themselves up in her mind.

"Claire?" Amira said. "You okay?"

No. "Yeah, but... What was I doing? I mean, why was I in the woods?"

"Training." Amira answered.

"Teaching a bunch of rooks how to survive out there." Caleb added.

Lightning nodded slowly. "Did...any of them come back?"

Amira shook her head as Caleb said, "Just you."

"...I see." Lightning said softly. She thought so. She remembered Hope telling her about the bodies. Charred, burned beyond recognition. He didn't know how many of them there were. She'd supposed it didn't matter, and she still did. But now, knowing she was responsible for them... It wasn't important how many there were, but _who_ they were. Why her!? Why did she have to survive? Oh. Right.

"Light?"

She shook her head, "Hm?"

"What-what happened?"

"They're dead." She told them. "They're all dead."

"No." Amira reached out and took one of Lightning's hands. "I mean to you. What happened to _you_?"

"I told you, I don't remember."

"Well, what's the earliest thing you _do _remember?"

'_Him._' she thought, fighting away her feelings, remaining firmly Lightning. "Waking up... He was carrying me."

"Whoa. Someone had the nerve to touch _you?" _Caleb said.

"Don't you have work to do?" Amira shoved him again, for real this time.

Caleb grumbled something that sounded a lot like, "I wanna know what happened." But he got up anyeay, replacing his chair and getting to work.

Amira rolled her eyes and turned back to Lightning. "Who was carrying you?"

"...Hope." She answered, letting the name like poison pass her lips for the first time since he left.

Amira's eyes widened. Apparently, she knew who he was. "You mean, he's not dead?"

"He wasn't as of a few days ago."

"Wow..." The brunette's voice made it sound as if being alive was a miracle. But really, the fact that any of them were still alive was more of a curse. "So, what happened next?"

And Lightning told her everything. Trip, Fang and Vanille. The dreams. She even told her about the stupid bet he and Fang had made at the lake. She told her about the village, about Trip's death. About their brands. She did, however, leave out Fang's story. That wasn't her place to tell. When she came to the part about coming home, Amira stopped her.

"I know about all that." She said. "I know that Vanille died. I'm sorry."

If only she had just died. "...Do you know how? What happened to her?"

Amira shook her head. "No, I don't."

"Hey, guys!" Caleb was back. He pulled up the chair again and placed himself at the table. "What'd I miss?"

As Amira answered, "A lot." Lightning glanced back at the rest of the café. There was almost no one left. Just one man who was sitting in the opposite corner from them. Also, she could see through the front window that it was dark. Dark enough that street lamps were on outside.

"How long have we been here?" She asked.

"My entire shift." Caleb answered. "It's almost ten."

"Really!" Amira looked down at her watch. "Dang."

"You guys don't have to leave. This place doesn't close until-"

"Eleven."

Lightning felt the word come out of her mouth, but she didn't realize it was her who said it. When she did, she blinked in surprise. How did she know that? She didn't even remember this place.

"Right." Caleb said.

"Do you wanna stay?" Amira was leaving the choice up to her.

It wasn't a hard choice. It was either here or home. The café had a warm, friendly atmosphere, but home... She wasn't quite ready to go back there. She wasn't ready to breathe in the tension there. Going back to that, to Fang's nearly tangible grief, well, it wasn't high on her list of things to do.

"Let's stay a little longer." She said

"Sounds good." Amira shifted her weight in her chair. "Well, I have a question."

"Okay."

"Well, you said that-that he had his brand back. Do you...?"

"Wait, who's _he_?" Caleb interjected.

He was ignored. "No, Amira, Just him."

The brunette sighed in relief. "Good. I mean, not good, but... You know what I mean."

"Yeah."

"Oh, and you can call me Ami by the way, just like you used to."

"Right."

"Uh, hello! Who's _he_?"

"Caleb." Amira scolded.

"Sorry..." He muttered.

"Okay, back to my question. What happened to Vanille?"

"She was killed." Gasps. But there had to be more to it than that. There wasn't a mark on her. She wouldn't just drop. Something had to have happened. Some small thing. They both must have just been in the same wrong place at the same wrong time. It _can't_ have been him.

"What-how?" Amira shook her head, speechless.

"Wait, who-what? What did I miss?" Oh. She'd forgotten that Caleb hadn't been there for that part of the story.

"A friend of mine was killed." That was a terrible description of a terrible event.

Amira found her words. "What happened? I mean, if you feel up to talking about it."

Did she? No. Not really. But, maybe they could help. Maybe a second, or rather, sixth opinion, might help.

"I don't really know." She answered honestly. "One moment she and...Hope were... And then she was gone."

"Was there, I mean, did anything weird happen?"

"Besides the whole thing? No." Lightning shook her head. "I just turned away, and the next second she was gone."

"I still don't understand what's going on."

"I don't really either..." Amira said thoughtfully.

"Actually," Lightning admitted, "there was one thing."

"What?"

"A few hours before it happened, he told me that, well..." She took a breath. "He told me that he was hearing voices, seeing things. I think... I think he was hearing a fal'Cie."

Two sets of eyes widened. "But, they're all gone, aren't they?" Caleb asked timidly.

Lightning shrugged. "I thought so too. But just because we don't see them, doesn't mean they're not there."

"And if it was, maybe the fal'Cie killed Vanille."

"With his hands?"

"Why not?"

"Who are we talking about?"

Just then, a voice came from behind them. "Lightning?"

* * *

***wipes forehead* Wow, that was a long one. Maybe I should have named this chapter 'Questions' instead.**

**Alright, this time, we're doing something a _little_ different. *dramatic lighting* **

**This time, YOU GUYS get to decide where we go from here. Do we stay with Lightning? Or do we check in on Hope? It is up to YOU. Leave your preference in a review, even if it's the only thing you say! There won't be any updates until you tell me what you want.**

**Ready.**

**Set.**

**Go!**


	7. Escape

**Author's Note:** Results: 2 votes for Hope, 1 vote for Lightning.

We will return to Hope. So if that's what you wanted, here you go! But if you wanted to see more of Light, don't worry, we'll come back to her next time.

* * *

A grunt sounded from deep within Hope's throat as he backed as far as he could from the body. Did he do that? Was that man dead because-because of him? It had to have been. No one else could have done it.

Why does this keep happening? This was the second time in this town alone. What was the point of all this killing? He knew his invader wanted his friends dead. Why not just kill them and leave it at that? Not that he wanted them to die, but he knew they would rather die than let a bunch of innocent strangers die instead.

He breathed heavily, but tried to stay as silent as possible. No one could know. Not until he could figure out what happened.

Unfortunately for him, there was a witness.

Dani was only nine years old, but this wasn't the first time she'd seen a dead body, and not the first time she'd seen a murder, as sad as that was. The world was not kind to Dani, but in this case, her knowledge would get her _out_ of trouble.

Sort of.

"I saw it." She said. "I saw the whole thing."

Her fellow jailbird jumped at the sound of her voice, and at the words her voice made. He turned his head to her, but kept his body pressed against the wall. "What happened?" He asked quietly.

"What? Are you testing me? I know what I saw." She wrapped her small fingers around the cold metal bars holding her back. "What're you gonna do now?"

He took some more deep breaths. "...I don't know."

Dani stood up on her tiptoes, keeping her grip on the bars. "I know what you can do."

"What's that?" The killer rasped.

She stuck her head as far through the bars as she could, which was pretty far. "You could leave. Escape."

"What would that solve?"

Dani rolled her eyes. He was one of _those_ people. "Whatever. Then help _me_ out of here. I know the way out, I just need a little...help."

Eyebrows were raised at her. "How many times have you been in here?"

"Irrelevant." She whispered quickly. "Are you gonna help me or not?"

Silence came from across the hall. Dani didn't give up though. She might not have been able to read words very well, but she could read people like a novel. Whoever this guy was, he was a good person under all of that rude murderer stuff. He would help her. Might take him a while, but he would help her.

Even if only because he didn't want to die.

"You don't have much time." She said as loud as she dared. "Max'll be back any minute. If you're still here when he does, you'll never get out of here alive."

He muttered something. Too low for her to hear. She counted the seconds in her head.

Three... Four... Five...

"What's the plan?" He said.

Dani smirked.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." Hope mumbled to himself.

He reached his hand through the bars of his cell and curled his fingers around the lock. The smooth metal contraption wouldn't be hard to get through.

He pressed his fingers into it, crushing the lock into a rough ball. As he yanked it free, the sharp squeal of ripping metal met his ears. The little girl shushed him from her own cell.

He ignored her, and gently pushed open the door, which thankfully only emitted a small squeak. Setting the remains of the lock on the floor, he proceeded to do the same thing to her lock.

"Quieter this time." She whispered.

'_You're the one talking.'_ He wanted to say. But he didn't. He just let her out.

The door was hardly open when she slipped out. She took off her shoes and her bare feet danced on the cold stone floor. She gestured for the crushed lock.

He gave it to her. She turned it over in her hands, felt for the shape that was no longer there. Vanille's eyes looked up at him. "How did you do that?"

"If we manage to get out of here, maybe I'll tell you." He answered. "Lead the way."

She nodded, and slipped the lock in her pocket. "They won't need this anymore, anyway. Come on."

She practically flew down the hallway, making no noise except for the barely discernible patter of skin on stone. Hope followed close behind, trying not to think about just how wrong the situation was. He was helping a little girl escape from _jail_. What would he get himself into next?

She didn't speak but tugged him in the right direction, leading him away from the cold stone cages and toward the exit. Which, unfortunately, was on the other side of a small office with windows creating the top half of the walls; and on the other side of _that_ was another room, also with mostly glass walls, this one filled with chairs. There were three men talking loudly in the office, one being the man who had stormed out of Hope's cell earlier.

"Are you sure this is the only exit?" Hope whispered.

"If there was another one, we'd be there." The little girl replied. "We just have to get past them. There's no one in the other room."

"This is the part of the plan that you didn't tell me." Hope stated.

"Just watch."

Dani padded slowly and quietly past the office, keeping as low as she could. A few boards creaked under her weight, but seeing as she was very small, the noise was hardly louder that a mouse's sneeze. She made her way toward the empty room, and Hope lost sight of her.

Though, he didn't have to wait very long to find out what she was up to. Maybe a minute after she entered the room, a large crash sounded, like a bunch of chairs falling onto each other. Hope pressed himself against the wall as all three men left the office to investigate. Another handful of seconds passed, and the front door opened slightly.

Knowing this was a signal, Hope took a few steps forward and glanced into the room. All of the men were surrounding a line of plastic chairs. It looked like they used to be in a stack, but were pushed over. Smart. Wasting no more time, Hope sneaked past, keeping low.

Once outside, cool, fresh air entered his lungs, and he breathed deeply. Freedom felt oddly good.

"C'mon!" The girl hissed. "We're not out of the woods yet.

So he followed her for a while. He wasn't sure how much later, but eventually they reached a small, run-down shack. She slipped in through the door, and came back almost immediately with a chunk of bread halfway in her mouth. It was oddly adorable, seeing this dirty little girl greedily eating the bread, her curious eyes open wide. She swallowed and said, "Thanks."

"Sure."

"So. Are you gonna tell me how you smashed the lock?"

Hope chuckled. "I said maybe, remember?"

She stuck her tongue out at him, the first thing she'd done that seemed appropriate for her age. She was sure to have an interesting story.

"How about this." He said, "I'll tell you how I did it, if _you_ tell me why you were in there."

She considered it. "Well, let's just say that I, um, borrowed things that don't belong to me."

So the girl was a thief. "What's your name?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Don't worry, I'll tell you."

She momentarily scrunched her nose. "Dani. Yours?"

"Mister is fine."

"Okay then. Tell me how you smashed the lock, _Mister_."

Hope squatted down to her level. "I'm really strong."

She poked him in the nose. "That's not an answer."

"You wouldn't believe the truth." He told her.

"Try me."

He chuckled. "You won't give up, will you?"

"Nope." Her green eyes showed her mischievous nature.

She looked so much like... He began to slip. He caught it early and kept control, but even still, he knew he had to leave. He couldn't risk hurting a kid.

He stood up quickly. Dani's expression flashed quizzical for a moment, then became normal.

"Goin' somewhere?" She asked casually.

Hope nodded.

Dani shrugged. "See ya, then."

"Sure." Hope watched as she went back into her little shack, shutting the door behind her. He would wonder why she didn't run home, but something told him that that beat-up old shack _was_ her home. Where were her parents?

He mentally shook himself. It didn't matter. He'd be leaving her behind. Without thinking further, he began to leave. He left the town of Cidra behind.

* * *

Dani watched him leave through a small hole in the wall. He walked in the opposite direction of town. There was a certain finality in his action. He'd made a decision. He was leaving this town and his actions behind.

She didn't entirely know why, but Dani decided to follow him. She told herself it was because as soon as she stepped back in town she'd be back in that jail cell. She also told herself that it wasn't because she wanted to know how he pulled off the lock with no effort. And it _certainly_ wasn't because he reminded her of her dad.

She grabbed what little she had and slipped out of the shack after him.

* * *

**So, what do you guys think of Dani so far?**


	8. On Our Way

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the slowness of this story, and for the crappy quality of it. I can do better, and we both know it. My heart just hasn't been in this lately. I've been focusing on the book that I'm writing, a real one, one that I hope to publish someday. I hope that's a valid excuse.

But I'm on the ball today. It's one of those days where I really miss Vanille (not that this story will help much considering), and for some reason missing her puts me in the mood to write. If the fact that I miss a fictional character makes you think I'm lame, then you can just-... Actually, you'd be right.

Back to the story!

* * *

Amira stood quickly, offering a salute. "Sir."

The aged man waved for her to sit down. "You're not required to do that anymore, Ami."

She sat down, returning to a very casual position in her chair. "Sorry. Old habits die hard."

"Not when you do it every time you see me." He nodded at Caleb. "Kid."

"Sir."

The older man smiled, and turned to Lightning. "You're finally back. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't think you were coming home. I thought you were dead."

Lightning didn't bother to ask who he was. He was clearly her superior. "If life was fair, I would be."

"Now, don't say that." His kind old eyes smiled. "It's good to see you."

Here it goes. "I wish I could say the same. My memory hasn't been kind."

The smile dropped. "You mean to say that you don't remember me?"

"No, Sir. I don't."

He gave a deep, "Hm." He did as Caleb had done, and grabbed a chair from another table, bringing their number up to four. "You mind telling me what happened out there?"

Lightning found herself once again telling her story, though a much shorter version this time.

Her superior placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "Well, you're home now, Farron. Your memory will come back in time."

"I hope so, Sir."

He nodded. "I'm afraid I have to be heading home. I only stopped in to get some coffee, but now it's too late for that." He stood. "I'll keep my ears open for any signs of your friend. If he does anything worth talking about, I'll find him."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Cut out the 'Sir,' Farron. We both know you should have my job, and besides, you trained me, remember?"

"No, I don't."

He sighed. "Right." He gave a friendly salute to the three of them. "I'll be seeing you."

The soldier left.

Amira glanced down at her watch. "Damn. We should probably all be going. It's almost eleven."

Caleb added to that a very exaggerated yawn. "Aww, _c'mon_, Mom. Ten more minutes." That earned him a harsh shove. "You call me 'Mom' one more time, and I'll have you wishing you were back in diapers."

"Those were the days..."

Amira rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She stood. "Come on, Light. I'll take you home. It's been too long since I've graced the floorboards of that house."

* * *

They didn't even reach the steps before they heard the raised voices. They exchanged a look, and cautiously approached.

What they walked into was a rare sight: Snow and Serah were fighting.

Serah's face was red from anger and shouting. Her soft pink hair was plastered to the side of her face, which was sweating; the heat from her anger and the odd warmth from the outdoors contributed to that. Snow had his large hands balled into fists by his sides. Though he would never hit Serah, the presence of his fists in an interaction with her meant he was very, _very_ pissed.

When Lightning and Amira entered, it was too late to solve the problem. Mere moments after they opened the door, Serah shouted, "OUT!"

You don't argue when Serah wants you out of her house. You also don't argue about the fact that it's _her_ house, even if you're her husband. Especially if you're her husband.

Snow didn't say a word, he just angrily shoved past the two and out the door. "Ass." Amira grunted indignantly.

Lightning ignored the large oaf and went to her sister. "Serah, what happened."

"Nothing much." She said, attempting to hold a casual tone. "Just a little argument."

"Serah."

The younger sister sighed in irritation. "We were fighting about... how to handle it. He still doesn't think we should look for him, Claire! I don't think we have a choice, but Snow said that-that he doesn't deserve to be found. Not after what he's done. He said that I have too much faith in him, that he's gone and he's never coming back. He said we need to let him go." She made fists of her own.

"What?" Amira cocked her head at Lightning. "Is he stupid?"

Unfortunately, Snow was the only one of them that wasn't looking at the situation through his memories. Lightning herself had never been very good at remembering that Hope was an adult. Something told her that she'd always see the fourteen-year-old who'd grown on her, instead of the centuries-old grown man that he'd become. Serah was likely in the same boat. It wasn't like they were completely at fault. When he'd left them the first time, he was only eighteen. Still a kid. They'd held onto that image because it was the only one they had. Although, it seemed like Snow had been able to shed that image. "He can take care of himself," was Snow's catch phrase whenever Hope was brought up, even all those years ago. He was probably right. But 'probably' also left a chance that Snow was wrong. "Yes, but I think the better word here is 'irrational' or 'overprotective.'" She replied. "Has he changed his mind about going with us?" She asked Serah.

Serah shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care." She crossed her arms. "I'm going. With or without him."

Lightning pressed a few fingers against her temple. This was worse than the first time. They were falling apart, fast. If they were going to find Hope, they'd better do it soon.

"I'll go talk to him." She said.

* * *

Lightning found Snow on the beach, about two seconds away from uprooting a palm tree. The string of profanities leaving his mouth (mostly directed at Hope) would make the toughest sailor blush.

"Remember, you kiss my sister with that mouth." Lightning called. "Chase, too."

"What do you want?" Snow growled.

"Just to talk." She leaned against the tree to save it's life.

"What you're planning is pointless. You were in that fight, you know how strong he is. We don't stand a chance. The only one who had a prayer was you, and he almost ran you through with a knife!"

Straight to the point. Good.

* * *

_The monotonous sound of dozens of boots hitting the ground in unison was starting to get to her. She was tempted to call a break, just so she wouldn't have to hear that noise anymore. But she wouldn't. If they stopped, they would want to eat lunch, her included. But they had to find water first. A lot of their canteens were empty._

**_"He's close..."_**

_Her hands began to burn._

* * *

"...I just don't think we should go through with this."

An acidic knot twisted in her stomach. Was that...a memory? She shoved it aside. She'd deal with it later.

"Snow, I get what you're saying. I do. But he's still in there somewhere. I know, because he talked to me, just before he left. _Him_. No one else. As for the fight, he took us on one at a time. If we fought him together, we'd take him down like all the other fal'Cie."

Snow stiffened. "You think it's a fal'Cie?"

"Is there any other being that could possess him?"

"...No."

"Didn't think so." She sighed. "Snow, come with us. If not for him, then for Serah. Let her know she's not alone."

It took a few seconds, but Snow eventually nodded. "Alright."

* * *

"...And that's all."

Fang kept her arms crossed, tapping her fingers against them. "Do you think...?"

Lightning shrugged. "I don't know anything for sure. But I remember the voice, Fang. It has to mean something."

Fang's gaze traveled to her crystal sister, then back to Lightning. "Means somethin' alright. And if I'm right, I don't want to live on this damn planet anymore."

Lightning sighed. "I just wish we had something. A clue to tell us where he is."

"Yeah. A clue and a knife."

Lightning threw her a questioning look. "What are you gonna do with the knife?"

"Cut his damned hand off. Right through his brand."

"Fang..."

"Look, it might've been a fal'Cie that killed her, but someone's gotta pay."

Lightning looked to Vanille. "Knowing him, he wants to die. He loved her, Fang. If you want him to suffer, free him, then let him live without her."

Fang grunted.

Someone knocked on the door. Without waiting to be denied, Serah opened the door, sticking only her head in. She didn't wait for a greeting either. "A man matching his description has been found."

Lightning sat straight up. It had to be him. No other young men had silver hair. "Where?"

"In a small town west of here. He was arrested for murder (Fang grunted again) but escaped. A little girl escaped, too. They either escaped together or he kidnapped her."

Lightning glanced at Fang. She nodded.

"Let's go."

* * *

**If there's no theories floating around in your head right now, you probably didn't pay attention to what you were reading.**

**Let the search for Hope begin!**


	9. Have You Figured It Out Yet?

_The stench of burning flesh and wood seeped into her nose and nested there. She would never forget that smell. Never forget her surroundings. Never forget the lives lost._

_She couldn't move much. Somehow during all the chaos a tree came falling down right on top of her, and for once in her life she was too weak to get out from under it by herself. But there was no one around to help. They were all dead._

_She couldn't see either. One side of her face was pressed into the mixture of ashes and soil that was not the dirt, leaving her with one eye. Not that that helped anything. She couldn't see through the smoke._

_The only part of her that wasn't under the tree was her right arm. She had it out, desperately reaching for someone or _something_ that was still alive. Even a squirrel would be comforting at this point. It was a fruitless search. She knew it. But that didn't stop her from trying._

**_"Silly girl. No one can help you."_**

_She ground her teeth together, and responded by stretching her arm out further. _No one _was going to tell her what to do. Especially not someone in her head._

**_"He'll be here soon. Why don't you sit still." _**_A command._

_'Like hell I will,' She thought angrily._

_The response was not in words, but in power. She felt as if she was being stabbed in the chest with a white-hot blade._

_So that's what her brand was for._

_She resisted the urge to cry out. Barely. She didn't care how much it hurt, she was _not_ going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her react. That was what he wanted. Still, no amount of stubbornness could stop the wetness from accumulating in her eyes._

**_"Hold on, l'Cie. You won't be alone much longer."_**

_Hope. Somehow, she knew he meant Hope. But he was dead._

**_"Stupid girl. No one brushes against death that many times without becoming immune."_**

_What?_

_The smoke began to clear, and footsteps met her ears._

**_"He's here..."_**

_Everything went black._

* * *

"...are you sure? We can get someone else to watch Chase."

Lightning blinked. The sudden release from her memory left her wondering what happened next. But then she realized that she knew what happened next.

Sazh nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Besides, it's not Chase I'm worried about." He looked toward the back of the house. "Vanille was like a daughter to me. I'm staying behind for her. I... don't want her to be alone." He chuckled sadly. "I can't believe I'm saying this."

"No, I understand."

He sighed. "Just promise me you'll find the kid, eh? And keep those three under control."

Serah let out a laugh. "Don't worry, I've got tons of experience. I know what I'm doing."

"Ah, but now you've got Fang."

"What about me, old man?" Fang teased as she entered the room.

"Oh, nothin', nothin'."

"Right." She turned to Lightning. "Where's Snow?"

Where was Snow? She probably knew the answer, but she was too disoriented right now. "No clue. Serah?"

"He's trying to explain to Chase why we're leaving. The kid-friendly version."

Fang snorted. "I'd love to see that. Sorry, but we're leaving because your aunt Vanille isn't really visiting friends, she's actually dead, and now we're going off to find her killer who is actually your uncle Hope who might have possibly kidnapped a little girl." She shook her head. "How he can make that 'kid-friendly,' I don't know."

This was the first time in days that Fang had left Vanille's side, and she was joking around. There was something really disturbing about how much she was looking forward to the possibility of needing to kill Hope. She'd always been aggressive, but this was a bit much.

"So, you guys have any idea where you're going?" Sazh asked.

"A small town called Cidra. That's where he was - where he was last seen."

"...Right." He sighed. "We're all too old for this."

"Speak for yourself." Fang said. "I still got a couple centuries before I catch up to you. I'm still game for some action."

Lightning was starting to think that Fang was certifiably nuts.

"Yeah, well, this is the kind of action I'd rather miss."

"You'd rather babysit?"

"Hell yeah. I'd take babysitting over tracking down the kid any day. Unlike some people, I would rather he live."

Fang glared at him. "And I'd rather have Vanille standing here next to me, but we don't always get what we want, do we?"

Time to step in. "Drop it, Fang. Let's all part on good terms, okay?"

Grunt.

Just then, Snow walked in saying, "Alright, I did my best."

"What did you tell him?" Serah asked.

"I just said that we had to go away for a little while, and Sazh would be staying with him. He asked where we were going, and I said, 'You remember Uncle Hope?' He said, 'Yeah.' I told him that we were going to go find him." He chuckled. "He wanted to come too."

"So you basically told him the truth, without all the gory details?" Fang said.

"Pretty much."

"Nice."

The room was silent for a few seconds. Then Serah said, "Well, I guess the only thing left to do is go."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to Sazh and Chase, they left. The act of leaving felt very final. It felt even more final when they got on the train and left home behind. Was that the last time they'd see Sazh?

The ride to Cidra would take a few hours. So until they got there, as much as Lightning hated it, all she could do was wait.

* * *

**This chapter was short, I know. Sorry.**

**Have you figured it out yet? If you think you have, let me know, and I will tell you if you're right or not. :)**


	10. What Now?

Dani found it easier to follow 'Mister' than she'd expected. Well, not at first. He ran for the first mile or so, he was really fast and she lost him quickly. Of course, that didn't stop her. When she did finally catch up to him, he seemed to be just taking a leisurely stroll through the wilderness. Her own pace slowed to one she could keep for a while, though since he hadn't stopped all day, neither had she; her stamina wasn't as high as she would have liked.

Though she had more stamina than most kids her age, a fact she was very proud of.

Judging by direction, she tried to figure out where he was going. This was mostly to give herself something to think about, she'd never been far from Cidra, so she really didn't know what towns they might run into. In fact, she realized with a jolt, every step she took was taking her farther they walked, the less sure she was about how to handle herself. Especially when the terrain began to change. The trees started to thin, giving way to long grass and rocks. They were nearing plains. Less trees, less places to hide.

...Crap.

For now, the grass and rocks were sufficient cover, but life never stayed on her side for long. Eventually, she'd run out of luck, and out of hiding spots.

Her luck held until night. She expected him to stop and camp.

But he didn't.

The longer she stayed out in the dark, the more she realized just how vulnerable and small she was. And the later it became, she realized just how hungry she was, not to mention tired. Mister might have inhuman amounts of stamina, but she didn't. As much as she was happy to possess, she was still a little girl - a fact that she despised - she could only be so strong.

She'd managed to put out the fire in her calves several hours ago, but it was slowly building up again. Not much more than embers, however, those could flare any minute. Her eyelids were getting heavy, wanting to cover her tired green eyes like a blanket. Though for the rest of her body, her jacket worked just fine. She had to stop soon, but she didn't want to lose him. Something about this guy made her want to figure out what he was up to.

At this point, it was too late to turn back.

Someone was looking out for her, because just before she was about to drop, he stopped. He looked around, and then settled against a large boulder. Within a few minutes, he appeared to be asleep.

_Appeared_ was the important word. She wasn't stupid. He hadn't slept in jail, and she had no reason to believe that he was sleeping now. She curled up behind a boulder of her own, much smaller than his. She pulled her jacket tighter around her, wishing the wind wasn't so cold. She decided that she missed the trees. Her eyes forced themselves closed, against her will. She'd allow it, for... for only a few...

"Dani?"

She blinked her eyes open at the voice calling her name, then shut them again as sunlight assaulter her pupils. It hurt, so she rubbed then out of habit.

"Dani, what are you doing here?"

She yawned. Sleep hadn't done her any good, she was still tired. "Did you really think you'd get rid of me that easily?"

"Dani..." He sighed, exasperated.

She frowned. "This is the part where you send me home, right?"

"It's not safe out here."

_"It's not safe, baby."_

Anger burned in her chest and behind her eyes. She stood and tried to appear as scary as a four-foot-something nine-year-old can be. "Well guess what, _Mister_, I don't _got_ a home! I got nothing to go back to!"

Something fell over his eyes. She thought it was sadness, but it could've been something else. He spoke calmly. "Believe me, you're much better off back in Cidra than with me. I'm a murderer, remember?"

"And I'm a thief, but you still freed me." She crossed her arms and huffed. "You can't make me go back. You still owe me an answer."

"Listen, there are some things that people just don't need to know. One of those things is my story. Please, just go back."

"But I _can't_ go back." She said, voice small. "If I do, they'll throw me right back in jail, 'to teach me a lesson.' Nobody wants me, Mister. They don't know what to do with me, so they lock me up. I'm nothing."

She fell silent, hoping she struck his sympathy chords. She didn't lie, but she _might_ have exaggerated a little. Now that she was free, it would take months for them to catch her again. She wasn't afraid of jail.

She struck something. His expression left his face, leaving him with the not-quite-blank look of someone making a decision. Hopefully the decision to let her tag along, or at least answer her questions. That would be brilliant.

It took a few minutes. After the first two, Dani sat down. No use standing if she wasn't doing anything. She watched as he stood like a statue, thinking. Then she began picking at and playing with the grass.

Finally, he sat down with her, a sigh escaping him. He looked her in the eye and said, "I won't be able to get rid of you, will I?"

She shook her head vigorously. "Nope."

"Figured." He sighed again. "I can't stop you from following me, so I'm going to warn you; I wasn't joking when I said it's not safe. I've wandered Pulse more times than you can count. I've seen everything out there. But the most dangerous thing, is me." His expression reached an extreme level of seriousness. "If I tell you to run, _run_. This isn't a game. If something happens, you're the one coming out of it, not me. Understand?"

"Yes." She said, suddenly a little scared. Again, it hit her just how far from home she was. Her sense of safety left her hours ago, but she hadn't left the sting of it until now.

Some of her fear must have leaked into her voice, because his expression softened. "You can always go back if you want to, Dani."

"Go back? No thanks." She crossed her arms and gave him her best pouty face. "Everyone back home is mean."

He chuckled slightly. "You're a strange one."

"And proud of it."

* * *

"So, where're we going?" Dani asked.

It was a few hours since she'd been caught, and a few minutes since they'd begun moving again. Mister - now properly identified as Hope - shook his head.

"Honestly? I don't know."

"I thought you said you've been everywhere?"

"I didn't say I didn't know where we are, I said I don't know where we're going. There's a difference."

Dani folded her hands behind her back and bounced for a few seconds. "Well, where do you _want_ to go?"

* * *

**Where _does_ he want to go...?**


	11. Off To The Mountains

**Author's Note:** Hey! So, this chapter is kinda short. Sorry! I've been on vacation for the last week, and didn't really have time to write. Well, here you go!

* * *

Where _did_ he want to go?

Dani stood with her fingers clasped behind her back, looking up at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. She looked so much like...that his heart constricted. Keeping her around would probably kill him, but _not_ keeping her around would probably kill her. He wasn't like Light, he wouldn't even consider leaving his younger companion behind. Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh.

Where did he want to go? Honest answer: to some dark corner somewhere to die. But since that was out of the question for multiple reasons, he had to come up with an actual destination. That was going to be a little difficult. He hadn't been fond of destinations for years, the majority of his life had been spent wandering, avoiding destinations on purpose. On top of that, he had Dani to consider. As much as he'd rather she leave, she wasn't going to. He had to think of somewhere she'd be safe. He sighed.

Where did he want to go?

"Well?" Dani said.

"I don't know." He told her honestly.

"Okay." She kicked her shoes into the dirt, sending out a little spray of earth. "In that case, while you're thinking, I have another question."

"Shoot."

She bit her bottom lip, bowed her head and asked, "Who's Vanille?"

Hope froze, his whole body went numb. He was probably lucky that he didn't need to breathe, because he wasn't. Vanille? Dani-

"Where did you hear that name?"

Dani flinched. He realized he sounded furious and broken, mad. What he was unable to feel with his heart he poured into his voice. He took a breath to try and calm down. It didn't work. He asked again, hopefully sounding less crazy. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Y-you said it a few times, back in jail. I just - I just wondered who she was."

Now he'd done it. He'd scared her. He sighed, and mentally pulled all of his cracked pieces together. He couldn't leave now, not with her here.

"She-" He started, but choked.

Dani looked up at him. Her gaze was one of understanding, though her fear was carefully hidden. He wondered what his own expression looked like. And if she really understood.

Apparently she did, at least, mostly. "Do you love her?"

Oh goddess, yes. "Yes, I did - do. She, um..." He swallowed. "She's gone now."

The little girl's eyes darkened. He could see tears forming in them, but she forced the not-quite-droplets back angrily and stood tall and strong. "I'm sorry." She said.

"Yeah, me too." He muttered. His desire to curl up and die became stronger, but so did his curiosity. What happened to this little girl?

Suddenly, he knew where he wanted to go.

He didn't know where his random decision came from - probably the mention of Vanille's name - but as soon as the idea entered his mind, he knew there wasn't anywhere else in the world that he wanted to be. It was the closest he could ever be to her again, since he couldn't go back. And Dani would be safe thee until he could figure out what to do with her.

"Mister?" Dani said. She'd reverted back to calling him the formal way - the safe way - he'd definitely scared her.

He offered what was hopefully a kind smile. "I know where I want to go."

* * *

His smile was meant to be kind, she was sure, but with the pain still clear in his eyes it looked more like a grimace. Dani knew it was a mistake to mention Vanille almost before she asked. Something about the way he said her name... Oh well, it was too late now.

"Where do you want to go?" She asked.

"Oerba." He said.

Her eyebrows knitted together. She had never heard of that place. "Where's that?"

He gestured widely. "That way."

She internally flinched when he gestured. She almost did it outwardly, but she wouldn't let herself. He wouldn't hit her, why flinch? Why? Because she didn't know for sure. He looked like he was going to when she mentioned his...whatever she was. But she couldn't be scared, she'd avoided punches from guys bigger than him.

'_But he's stronger than any of them.' _A little voice in her head said.

_'Shut up.' _She told it.

Whatever the case, he was just being stupid now. She smirked. "That's not a direction. You just pointed to half of Pulse."

"_Gran_ Pulse." He corrected. "Yeah, I know." He pointed, specifically this time. "You see those mountains? Well, we're going to have to zig-zag through them for a while. We have to get to the other side."

She stared at the mountains, and almost groaned. They were _so far away._ The gigantic piles of stone and dirt were far enough that they appeared to be just hills. Tall hills, but not quite mountains.

"How long is it gonna take to get there?" Dani asked.

"To the mountains? Few days maybe. To Oerba..." He trailed off. "Well, that depends."

"On what?"

"On if anything tries to stop us."

Something about the way he said that sent a shiver down Dani's spine. "You mean...monsters?"

Hope turned toward the mountains. "Yeah, something like that."


	12. Chocobos

**Author's Note:** Hi! So, we're back to Lightning and the others. This chapter is more slightly entertaining than anything, it's not the best. But hey, the plot takes a baby step forward, so who cares, right?

Anywho, on with the chapter!

* * *

"Ugh." Fang stretched as the train came to a slow stop. "Finally. I was starting to lose the feeling in my ass."

Lightning elbowed her. There was a mother with a small child sitting in front of them. She'd managed to control her tongue around Chase, but she apparently forgot that most parents don't appreciate people cursing around their kids. Fang just grunted.

They paraded off the train along with everyone else who was stopping in Cidra. There weren't that many others. Only five other people got off with them: a group of four men in their fifties and a timid young woman who couldn't have been more than twenty-five.

"Remind me, what's the plan from here?" Snow said once they left the station.

Lightning shrugged. "Just, see if anyone has any idea of where he went. I doubt it, but it couldn't hurt."

Serah frowned. "In that case, I mean, if no one knows where he went, what do we do then? You kinds neglected to tell us that part of the plan."

"Well, this place is a straight line from Bodhum. In his state of mind, he probably didn't change direction."

"Even after his, eh, detour?" Fang said skeptically.

"Even parasites have goals."

"Well, I guess we'd better find that jail." Snow said.

* * *

"What's it to ya?" Said the man they found in the office. He sat slouched in his chair, with a pencil in his teeth.

"He's my brother," Lightning said, "we want to find him as much as I'm sure you do."

The man behind the desk leaned forward, the smell of cigars on his breath. "Listen lady, I'm not in the business of jus' tellin' people top-secret info."

Fang, short of temper as she was, slammed her fist onto his desk, causing the six or seven various coffee cups to rattle. "It's _your_ turn to listen. He killed someone back home, too. Do you think he's gonna stop? If we leave here and find out he killed someone else - like that little girl - and it turns out you knew where he was going, I'll come back here, and personally shove that pencil so far up your-"

"Fang." Serah warned.

The Oerban growled, but backed off.

The man didn't appear to be scared of Fang, but it was obvious that he believed her. "All right, all right." He leaned back. "Look, we went searchin' for 'em. We checked out the places the brat liked to hang out at, an' found footprints headin' that way." He pointed in the direction the footprints went, the same direction Hope had headed in the first place. "That's it."

"You didn't go farther?" Snow asked, disgusted.

"Why would we? They're gone, out of our town, not our problem."

All it took was Serah's hand on Snow's arm to keep him from lunging at the man, but Lightning had to hold Fang back by both arms. "Not your problem." She hissed. "He killed my sister!" She tried to get away, but Lightning just held on tighter.

"Come on." She said. "We know where he's heading, let's go."

Fang ripped herself free, but didn't move. "Fine." She slammed her hands down on the desk, and glared at the man. "If I were you, I'd destroy that pencil. I wasn't joking." She turned back to the others. "Let's get out of here."

They followed her out.

"What was that about?" Lightning asked once they were outside.

"That idiot wouldn't know a footprint from his own grave. A girl gets taken, _under their noses_, and they don't give a damn." Fang clenched her fists. "For all they know, she could be dead ten feet into the trees."

"No, I don't think so." Serah said.

"And why not?"

"Because I know him, and whatever is left of him wouldn't let that monster hurt a little girl." She said it with such certainty. Lightning was glad that at least her sister agreed with her' he was in there somewhere.

Fang grunted. "No offense, but you don't know him any better than I do."

Serah crossed her arms. "Well, at least I'm _trying_ to know him."

"All right guys, calm down." Snow said. "Does any of this really matter? We know where he's going, sort of, so why don't we stow the arguing and get looking?" He pointed in the direction Hope had gone. "There's not much that way. We don't have time to waste. He could be anywhere."

"Well, that _is_ that way?" Serah asked.

Snow thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Not sure."

They all stared for a while, as if that would help them remember. Lightning felt like she should know. It was on the tip of her tongue, like a food she couldn't quite identify.

Fang did it for her. "Oerba." She said. "He's going to Oerba." She spoke as if about a dead animal at her feet. She didn't like that he was going to her home. To Vanille's home.

As soon as she said it, they knew she was right.

"That's a ways away." Lightning said. "He's already got a head start, and I have a feeling we don't want him to get there first."

"I saw a place back by the station that rents chocobos." Snow said.

"What do you think, Fang?" Serah put in.

The hunter put her hands on her hips. "What do _I_ think?" She turned to Snow. "I think we'd better go grab ourselves some chocobos."

* * *

**See? It was only okay. **

**OhMyEtro, I love chocobos. They're so cute! I especially love riding them in 13. Did you know that if you sit on one long enough, something happens? For example: if Vanille sits on a chocobo long enough, it falls asleep! Haha! *cough* Sorry about that...**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought! :)**


End file.
